Cycle Technologies

What Cycle Technologies does

Cycle Technologies, Inc. is a Washington, DC-based private company founded in 2002 that manufactures and distributes CycleBeads, a visual fertility tracking tool based on the Standard Days Method of family planning developed by Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health. Cycle Technologies holds an exclusive manufacturing and distribution license for the patented CycleBeads product and registered trademarks, producing a low-cost color-coded bead system that helps women with 26-32 day menstrual cycles identify days 8-19 as potentially fertile for either pregnancy prevention (95% effective with correct use, 88% with typical use) or pregnancy planning (88% success within 6 months). The company also offers free companion mobile applications on iOS and Android (including a Spanish-language version launched in January 2018), an online self-screener tool, and the CT EduSeries training program for healthcare providers.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining low-unit-price hardware sales (individual sets, wholesale to retailers and pharmacies, bulk orders to clinics and family planning programs) with free mobile apps monetized through in-app banner advertising, supplemented by fees from educational webinars and trainings. Cycle Technologies sells directly to consumers through cyclebeads.com and app stores, and channels institutional volume through a deeply embedded global distribution network that includes USAID, UNFPA, Population Services International, Pathfinder International, Jhpiego, CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, FHI 360, IntraHealth, EngenderHealth, Society for Family Health, and the Haitian Health Foundation, reaching 60+ countries.

The company is founder-led by Leslie Heyer, operates with fewer than 10 employees, has no disclosed institutional funding or acquisitions, and reports lifetime usage by 7+ million people with claims of 7.5 million unintended pregnancies prevented and 2 million pregnancies planned. Its core intellectual property is licensed rather than owned outright, making the Georgetown University partnership the central anchor of both the technology and the regulatory/clinical credibility underlying the product.

Name

Cycle Technologies

Legal name

Cycle Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://cyclebeads.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cycle Technologies manufactures and distributes CycleBeads, a patented visual fertility tracking tool based on Georgetown University's Standard Days Method, sold to individual consumers and channeled to NGOs, Ministries of Health, and family planning programs across 60+ countries for natural pregnancy prevention and planning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reproductive Health Products

NAICS

Family Planning Centers (621410)

akta.pro primary industry

Contraception & Family Planning Telehealth (birth control, counseling, follow-up) (HLALAHAB)

Keywords

• Natural family planning
• Fertility tracking tools
• Cycle bead products
• Reproductive health apps
• Standard days method

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Physical CycleBeads Product Sales: Sale of physical CycleBeads visual fertility tracking tools. Individual sets sold through Nature's Warehouse, bulk orders for clinics and programs.
2. Wholesale and Bulk Orders: Wholesale pricing for retailers, pharmacies, healthcare clinics, and family planning programs. Non-profit discounts available for qualifying organizations supported by USAID.
3. Educational Programs: CT EduSeries educational programs including webinars, virtual trainings, and on-site trainings for healthcare providers and family planning professionals.
4. Advertising Revenue: Banner ads within technologies to make them available to end users for free. Data is not shared with advertisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cycle Technologies manufactures and distributes CycleBeads, a patented color-coded physical bead tool that helps women with regular 26-32 day menstrual cycles identify their fertile window (days 8-19) for natural pregnancy prevention or planning using the Standard Days Method. The company also offers free CycleBeads mobile applications for iOS and Android, an interactive self-screener tool, and CT EduSeries educational training programs for healthcare providers, all distributed globally to consumers, retailers, clinics, and NGO/government family planning programs.

Product overview

Cycle Technologies offers a focused product portfolio centered on CycleBeads, a fertility awareness-based family planning solution based on the Standard Days Method developed by Georgetown University. The product line consists of a physical bead-based tool (CycleBeads) and companion mobile applications for iPhone and Android. These products work together to help women with regular 26-32 day cycles identify their fertile window (days 8-19) for natural pregnancy prevention or planning. CycleBeads is 95% effective when used correctly and 88% effective with typical use, and is distributed globally through NGOs, Ministries of Health, healthcare providers, and retailers in over 50 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CycleBeads (Physical Fertility Tracking Tool) A patented, color-coded physical bead tool that helps women with regular 26-32 day menstrual cycles identify the fertile window (days 8-19) using the Standard Days Method for natural pregnancy prevention or planning. Users move a rubber ring one bead per day starting on the first day of their period; white beads mark fertile days and brown beads mark non-fertile days. Sold individually through e-commerce, wholesale to retailers and pharmacies, and in bulk to healthcare clinics and NGO/government family planning programs.
• CycleBeads iPhone App Free iOS smartphone application that enables women to plan or prevent pregnancy using the Standard Days Method. The app screens potential users, tracks cycles, monitors that cycles stay in the appropriate 26-32 day range, and identifies when fertile days occur.
• CycleBeads Android App Free Android smartphone application that enables women to plan or prevent pregnancy using the Standard Days Method. The app screens potential users, tracks cycles, monitors cycle length to ensure it stays within 26-32 days, and identifies fertile days. Available in English and Spanish.
• CT EduSeries Educational Programs Educational programs for healthcare providers and family planning professionals, including webinars with health experts, customized virtual trainings for health clinics, on-site trainings in the Washington DC metro area, and live trainings at Cycle Technologies headquarters. Designed to train clinicians and community health workers on the Standard Days Method.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% effective at preventing pregnancy with correct use; 88% effective with typical use
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped the Standard Days Method of family planning through clinical efficacy studies. Cycle Technologies manufactures and distributes CycleBeads under license from Georgetown University. The Institute provides ongoing research support and has published country implementation studies.
• Population Services International (PSI)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSocial marketing partnership to reach women in need of family planning through pharmacies and small shops in several countries across Africa. Studies confirm CycleBeads can be successfully socially marketed and women use the method correctly when purchasing from pharmacies.
• USAIDcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUSAID supplies CycleBeads for international family planning programs. Non-profit discounts available for organizations and programs supported by USAID.
• UNFPAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUNFPA supplies CycleBeads for international family planning distribution programs.
• Pathfinder InternationalmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIntegrates CycleBeads into family planning programs in Ethiopia and Kenya. Supports scale-up of Standard Days Method through their international reproductive health programs.
• JhpiegomajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIntegrates CycleBeads into family planning programs, particularly in Burkina Faso. Supports training of healthcare providers on the Standard Days Method.
• CARE InternationalmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplements family planning programs including CycleBeads distribution in Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Catholic Relief ServicesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplements family planning programs with CycleBeads in Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Haitian Health FoundationmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplements CycleBeads family planning programs in Haiti through community health initiatives.
• Family Health International (FHI 360)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIntegrates CycleBeads into family planning programs, particularly in Kenya.
• IntraHealth InternationalmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplements CycleBeads family planning programs throughout Rwanda.
• EngenderHealthmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplements ACQUIRE project for family planning in Bolivia, integrating CycleBeads into reproductive health services.
• Society for Family Health (SFH)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorImplements family planning programs with CycleBeads in Nigeria.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Flo Health: Widely used period, ovulation, and pregnancy tracking app with a freemium subscription model; addresses the same women-tracking fertility use cases as CycleBeads' app.
• Clue: Leading period and ovulation tracking app with broader women's-health positioning; overlaps on the digital fertility tracking use case with a more consumer-tech UX.

Direct peers

• Ava: Wearable fertility tracker with companion app targeting trying-to-conceive and cycle-aware consumers; overlaps with CycleBeads on device-driven fertility awareness for planning and prevention.
• Daysy: Hormone-free fertility tracking device and app that uses daily temperature readings to identify fertile windows; competes directly with CycleBeads on non-hormonal, device-assisted FAM.
• Kindara: App-first fertility awareness platform with charting and community tools focused on natural family planning and conception, directly comparable in methodology and audience.
• Natural Cycles: FDA-cleared fertility awareness-based contraception app using basal body temperature; the most direct digital competitor to CycleBeads in the consumer FAM/contraception category.

Others

• SimpleHealth: Online contraception and women's health provider offering telehealth and home delivery; competes for the same women-facing contraception demand, albeit through hormonal methods.
• Nurx: Telehealth platform delivering hormonal contraception and related women's health products; represents the digital/contraceptive-delivery alternative to CycleBeads' natural family planning value proposition.
• Population Services International (PSI): Global health social marketing NGO and existing Cycle Technologies partner; comparable in driving contraceptive uptake in LMICs through pharmacy and community channels.
• DKT International: Large-scale contraceptive social marketing organization operating in 60+ countries; comparable in distribution footprint and channel partners across LMICs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CycleTechnologies
• Xx.com/cycletechglobal
• Facebookfacebook.com/cycletechnologies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cycle-technologies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cycle Technologies